A week ago we were offered access to a limited-mintage coin being struck reflecting on Pope Francis: Pope Francis Welcome Home 2025 Canada 1oz Silver $5 Coloured Coin. The image depicts him meeting Saint Peter in heaven. I cringed when I saw it and dismissed buying stock for a second. Then, I thought I’m not that customer but others may be. Now, $5,000 in sales on, I am glad I was able to access this now rare product.
We did this as a pre-sale, meaning the entire shipment has been paid for weeks prior to the stock arriving from Europe.
The success here comes down to a few things that any newsagent can do:
- Being online. This means you can sell to anyone anywhere.
- Not shopping as if you are your customer. Let your customers show you what’s possible.
- Having a previous customer database to leverage.
- Backing your instincts.
- Risking little. Our initial order was for 5 to test. They sold in seconds and we immediately ordered more.
- Stepping outside. Outside your usual, outside the expectations of the shingle.
The financial commitment was modest, the risk small. The $5,000 revenue result speaks to the value.
I think it’s vital we play outside what has been traditional for our channel as it is through this that we find new shoppers, and new shoppers are key to a brighter future for our businesses.
I have one more point of this: speed to market. The folks creating this coin have done so at speed and this is key to success here. We are in a moment in the world and in retail especially where speed is vital. This is speed in project concept thoriugh to manufacture as well as speed at decision making,. With only 200 of these coins to be minted worldwide we needed to make a quick decision.
Oh, and a footnote. What I have discovered is that plenty of coin shoppers are traditional newsagency shoppers, and those who are not are loyal once they have found you.